"Kids
are important",
stated Darryl Sutter
from just outside the
Flames' dressing room at
the Saddledome on
Wednesday afternoon. A
comment that was fitting
as one of the
"kids", Jordan
Leopold, walked by on
the way to a work out.

"Hey
Jordan" he called
out as the soon to be
sophomore defenceman
moved his way by the
media scrum.

"We
haven't done enough
drafting and developing
around here", he
continued, "Blair
Betts is one of the few
to come through the
system. Now it's his
time".

The
first step in drafting
and developing young
hockey players is the
actual selection
process, a process that
Sutter will experience
as a general manager for
the first time a week
from Saturday in
Nashville.

Pick
up any draft preview
published this summer
and you'll see a blurb
in each team's write up
describing the draft
tendencies of each club.
Often the token
"take the best
player available"
is provided with
examples of past picks
as a backup.

In
Calgary that just isn't
possible.

We
can look back on a few
years of Doug Risebrough,
then at four seasons
under Al Coates, and
then three under Craig
Button, but with a new
regime once again in
place in Calgary, it's anybody's'
guess what Sutter has in
mind.

"I
wouldn't say we'll take
the best player
available" offered
Sutter, "but maybe
the best player
available that fits our
team".

Got
it all figuered out then
fans?

I
didn't think so.

"No
matter who we take, you
know it's going to be a
two to three year
project, not a guy that
can just step in. We can
use players at almost
every position. We have
a lot of right wingers
under contract, a young
group of defenceman, and
some good prospects in
goal."

From
that one could gather
that the man was looking
to the left side or
center on the forward
ranks as his initial
thought going into the
first round, a round
that will see Calgary
draft in the ninth spot.

But
then just as the ink was
drying on everyone's
notepad he injected
"but you can never
have enough defenceman".

And
the mystery carries on.

The
Flames have three picks
in the top 50 to 55
selections of the draft,
an opportunity that
clearly has Sutter very
enthused in such a deep
group. (The compensation
pick for losing Curtis
Joseph is expected to
fall into the 41-51
hole, but the NHL didn't
confirm the exact spot
today as expected).

"With
three picks in the top
50 you hope to go three
for three - bring in
three quality players.
That doesn't always
happen as we know, but
that's the aim. We know
were going to have a
very good player
available not only when
we draft 9th, but also
in the second round for
our two picks".

It's
a peculiar time for
Sutter and the Calgary
Flames. Sutter has
inherited his
predecessor Craig
Button's entire scouting
staff. That's an awkward
situation at the best of
times, but it's made
even worse when one of
said scouts is Button's
brother Tod.

"Everyone
trusts their scouts,
there the one's that do
all the work. I'll have
some input into the
team's needs but at the
end of the day it comes
down to the guys that
saw them play."

He
gleams his confidence in
the group from their
recent work pointing to
past successes as all
the proof needed for
their ability to find
talent.

"They
did an unbelievable job
last year. Nystrom, a
big strong kid whose a
couple of years away ...
Lombardi, how many kids
score 25 goals in the
American Hockey League
in their first season of
pro hockey? Plus that
Calgary kid in goal
(Curtis McElhinney taken
176th overall), how many
youngsters get taken
that late and then
become a number one
goalie on a top six
college team? The
Russians the year
before. Medvedev,
Trubachev and Taratukhin
are three of this club's
top six prospects".

For
his part he played down
the drafting by origin
angle that has buzzed
around Calgary since his
comments in
accountability sessions
at the Saddledome
earlier.

"We
have no preference in origin",
he stated. "I guess
I'd lean towards a North
American player, a
Canadian player, but to
be honest it's a very
deep draft, you won't
get yourself in any
trouble by isolating to
any one region".

"In
the end the kid's
background is the most
important. Where he
comes from, what he's
made of."

Someone
mentioned the fact that
there are two to three
players in this draft
that are sons or nephews
of former NHL players, a
factor that a Sutter of
course wouldn't play
down.

"Oh
bloodlines are huge. But
these kids are all first
rounders for reasons
other than their names.
At one point in their
careers they may have
got a boost from their
father or uncle but they
got to this position on
their own."

"I've
seen Ryan Suter play.
You naturally make
comparisons and as
having coached Gary, you
hope he turns out the
same way. He's going to
be a very good player.
He was a year younger
then his teammates at
the World Juniors and he
stood out".

When
pushed to see if he's
had any influence pushed
upon him by his brother
Brent in Red Deer - a
man with more than a
little interest in
another defenceman
expected to go high,
Dion Phaneuf - Darryl
Sutter smiled.

"Everyone
wants their players
drafted."

Darryl
like five of his
brothers made this trek
to the NHL many a year
ago.

And
where was Darryl when he
heard the news that he
had been drafted by the
Chicago Blackhawks in
the 11th round of the
1978 NHL Entry Draft?

"I
was pouring cement 12
miles North of Viking
Alberta", he stated
as a matter of fact.
"Bobby Orr called
which thrilled Brent and
my mother because they
were both Bruin
fans".

Interesting
that he'd bring up the
word cement, a key
ingredient in that
foundation we discussed
at the outset.

And
is that cement still in
place Darryl?

"Of
course".

And
the Flames can only hope
that a few years from
next Saturday they are
able to claim a similar
story for the players
they poured into their
foundation.